Hundreds fill Marin Catholic football field to remember Dino Ghilotti

Twenty-two-year-old Dino Ghilotti, killed in a May 12 car crash just two days after graduating from the University of Miami, was known as "the family fireplace," his sister has said, "because he brought us together in a warm and wonderful way."

Hundreds of relatives and friends of the charismatic scion of a well-known Marin County construction family came together Friday to remember the popular young man at a memorial service at St. Raphael's Church in San Rafael, followed by a lavish catered reception under a huge white tent on the Marin Catholic High School football field, where Ghilotti starred as a defensive back and wide receiver. He also played basketball; the Marin Catholic basketball court is named after his grandfather Dino.

Some 800 guests sat around rows of tables on the field, named after Ghilotti's father, Richard. They were offered memorial baseball caps and T-shirts with "Dino" on the front above a cartoon dinosaur that Ghilotti had drawn. They were printed with lyrics from the Mariah Carey song, "Bye Bye," that said, "They say heaven's gated, but I think I know the code. It's get your life right by the end of the road."

Ghilotti's high school football number, 8, was on the back of some of the shirts beneath his name. After it was blessed, the number was retired, never to be worn by another Marin Catholic player. Among the guests were members of the school's football team, wearing their lettermen's jackets. Players will wear Ghilotti's number 8 on their helmets during the coming football season.

Ghilotti, who grew up in San Rafael, graduated from the university with a degree in business management and had been planning to work for his family's Ghilotti Construction company. He died on Mother's Day in an early-morning crash near the UM campus in Coral Gables. In the aftermath, friends and family members placed flowers beside a crumpled street sign at the accident scene.

Dustin Tattoli, a friend and classmate, visited the makeshift memorial before attending a service on the UM campus. "Dino was really popular," he told a local CBS TV affiliate. "Everybody loved him."